GSP Vs Anderson Silva Fight On Course For 2011 Says Dana White

It’s the fight every MMA fan wants to see, and yesterday at the Fight For the Troops Q&A session Dana White gave the strongest indication yet that the two pound for pound best fighters in the sport, Georges St.Pierre and Anderson Silva will fight this year.

“After [Silva] wins that fight on the 5th [against Vitor Belfort] and then Georges St.Pierre needs to beat Jake Shields in Toronto [in April]…if that happens then we’re probably going to do that fight. Alright? So if they both win then that fight makes all the sense in the world. And Georges St.Pierre said he’d move up to 185[lbs] and stay there,” White stated in response to a fans question regarding the match-up.

Of course this isn’t the first time that White has made a statement like this and then changed his mind later on so we’ll have to wait and see if it does indeed materialize.

Right off the bat there is one potential spanner in the works – White had already promised the next title shot at 185lbs would go to Yushin Okami after he beat Nate Marquardt in the main event of UFC 122 this past November.

There’s also the question of whether GSP himself is ready to make the move. He’s been talking about it for some time and has been slowly adding more muscle to his frame, but at the same time when questioned about making the jump he often appears hesitant to commit to it.

I’d actually like to see a 180lb catchweight fight set up instead. That would make the transition easier for St.Pierre, while also ensuring that Okami would still get the next shot at Silva’s 185lb title after this ‘superfight’ has taken place.

First things first though, both men need to win their next fights, and that’s by no means a forgone conclusion. As always in this sport there’s likely to be a few more twists and turns along the way before we finally have the chance to see this long anticipated showdown.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.

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